I stood on the bare grass by the bus stop watching the neighbor's dog do it's morning business on the lawn. The morning has a crisp and distinct smell, and the late winter sun has a cheering quality. I listen to the traffic noise a block away, waiting for the deep rumble of the bus engine or the high pitched squeal of its brakes. And there it is, braking before it makes the turn onto my street. I glance down at my Timex and note that he's 30 seconds late this morning. He's inevitably 30 seconds late when I'm two minutes early, and two minutes early when I'm 30 seconds late.
The bus pulls up to a stop, and I wait as a young kid comes out the front door. I get in and make my way to an available seat, usually on the front 1/3 where the seats face each other. I'm in a wistful mood, and I note the different kinds of people on the bus. Across from me is an older black bearded gentleman. He doesn't look very prosperous, and he has a sly glance as he looks around the bus. He picks out a young college girl, and goes up and sits by her, striking up conversation. The girl has pulled back, brownish hair and is looking out the window with her hands folded on her knees, dark rimmed glasses on the tip of her nose. The black guy is loud and gregarious, and starts asking her where she's going and what classes she's taking. She, rather uneasily, acts sociable and tells him that she's a psychology major, and he smacks his head, turns away and says "wooowiiiieee." He then starts talking about where he's from and that he's a great grandfather 6 times over.
A couple of isles back, there's an overweight mid twenties white man with a backpack stuffed to the gills with who knows what. He's carrying a plastic bag from Dollar General with some cookies in it. He speaks only a couple of times on the trip, but it's in a very loud and brutish voice that doesn't leave your memory--the voice of the mentally deficient.
On the other side, there's a late teens white man with baggy jeans, dark round sunglasses and a flat brimmed hat. He's sporting IPOD buds hanging from his ears and is bopping along as he looks out the window, I would imagine to something like Eminem.
To my right up at the very front, there's a bag lady. She's overwieght, working her gums, and smells like she hasn't had a shower in a couple of weeks with a faint twist of urine. She pushes a small cart with groceries in it and looks as if she's a million miles away.
And then the bus pulls up to another stop, and it starts to get crowded. College kids are piling in. There's a group of Asian looking people in the midst, two young girls and one young man, and they get on and find a seat next to each other, conversing in some kind of tonal language that I don't comprehend. They are all smiles and full of energy.
Just another typical day on the morning bus ride.